Material removing tool

ABSTRACT

A manually operated material lifting tool primarily used for lifting roofing material. The tool has a tool blade, the blade having a front edge and rear edge, the front and rear edges joined by side edges. The blade is wider than it is longer and has slots extending inwardly from the front edge toward the back edge forming teeth between the slots. A handle is attached to the top of the blade approximately midway between the side edges, the bottom, front of the handle located behind, but adjacent the closed end of the nearest slot, and the bottom, rear of the handle adjacent the rear edge of the blade. The handle extends rearwardly and upwardly from the top of the blade at an angle ranging between 30° and 50°.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention is directed toward a manually operated tool for use inremoving material. The invention is more particularly directed toward aroofing tool for use in manually separating roofing material from roofsin the repair of roofs. The invention is also directed toward a bladefor use in the roofing tool.

2. Background Art

Most manually operated roofing tools employ a thin, relatively long,blade with a handle extending upwardly and rearwardly from the top, rearof the blade. The blade is generally longer than it is wider, the longblade thought to be desirable to be able to lift more of the shinglesduring each lift. The front of the blade can be tapered and is providedwith slots that extend rearwardly a relatively short distance from thefront edge toward the rear edge of the blade. The slots are used tocapture the shanks of roofing nails encountered by the blade duringoperation of the tool, the blade being manipulated by the handle to liftthe captured nails from the roof. Most of the known manual roofing toolsuse leverage to be able to lift the nails and the shingles away from theroofs. The handle of the tool is used to slide the blade, while all, orat least the front part of the blade, is flat on the roof, under theshingles. The handle can then be manipulated to pivot the blade aboutits back edge to raise the front edge of the blade under the shingles tolift them. The blade often has a fulcrum under the blade at its rearend. By pivoting the handle about the fulcrum while the fulcrum rests onthe roof, the fulcrum aids in lifting the front of the blade, and anyshingles on the blade. The handle is normally located close to the backedge and/or the fulcrum, well spaced from the slots, to allow the bladeto move forward under the shingles for a considerable distance beforelifting the shingles.

It has been found however that the relatively long blade makes for aheavy tool which is tiring to use and thus inefficient. Further, it hasbeen found that the long blade makes the tool less efficient in liftingthe shingles since the moment arm from the back pivot edge of the bladeto the front edge is relatively long. The longer the blade, the moreeffort that must be expended to use the tool.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Applicant has discovered that a much more efficient and lighter tool canbe effectively employed in lifting shingles by using a very short bladewith the handle of the tool, extending from the blade, located betweenand adjacent both the rear edge of the blade and the end of the slots inthe front of the blade. The blade is obviously lighter and obviouslymore efficient since there is a very short lever arm between the rearedge of the blade and the front edge making it much easier to lift theshingles up. While the tool does not extend nearly as far under theshingles to lift them, as do the prior art tools, it has beenunexpectedly found that the new tool can lift a given area of shinglesquicker with less effort than the time needed to lift the same area ofshingles using tools with a long blade. Applicant's tool loosens andpartly lifts the shingles with the short front of the blade and thencontinues lifting the shingles with the handle as the blade is pushedforward to loosen more of the shingles. Much less effort is required toloosen and partly lift the shingles since applicant's tool blade is soshort and the leverage is so great. What is unexpected is that theshingles can be easily completely lifted in short forward and liftingmovements using the tool handle as well as the blade. While the operatormust use more forward and lifting movements, the lighter tool and themore efficient lifting action more than compensates for the increasedtool activity.

The invention is particularly directed toward a manually operatedmaterial lifting tool having a blade, the blade having front and rearedges, the front and rear edges joined by side edges, the front and rearedges being longer than the side edges to make the blade wider than itis longer. The blade has slots extending inwardly from the front edgetoward the back edge forming tapered teeth. A handle is attached to thetop of the blade approximately midway between the side edges, the handlelocated between, and closely adjacent to, the rear edge and the end ofthe nearest slot. The handle extends rearwardly and upwardly from thetop of the blade.

The invention is also directed toward a tool blade for a manuallyoperated material lifting tool, the tool blade having a front edge and arear edge, the front and rear edges joined by side edges, the front andrear edges being longer than the side edges to make the blade wider thanit is longer. The blade has slots extending inwardly from the front edgetoward the back edge forming teeth between the slots. A hosel isattached to the top of the blade approximately midway between the sideedges, the hosel located between, and closely adjacent to, the rear edgeand the end of the nearest slot. The hosel extends rearwardly andupwardly from the top of the blade, the hosel adapted to receive ahandle member by means of which the tool is manually operated.

DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tool;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the tool head;

FIG. 3 is a detail plan view of the teeth on the tool blade;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the tool pulling up a nail;

FIG. 6 is a detail side view of another embodiment of the tool blade;

FIG. 7 is a detail side view of a further embodiment of the tool blade;

FIG. 8 is a side view of another embodiment of the tool head;

FIG. 9 is detail plan view of another embodiment of the tool blade; and

FIG. 10 is a detail perspective view of another embodiment of the toolhandle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The tool 1, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a blade 3 with a handle 5extending upwardly and rearwardly from the blade. The handle 5 comprisesa separate handle member 7, made from a wooden rod or a metal tube,attached directly to a metal hosel 9 extending upwardly and rearwardlyfrom the top 11 of the blade.

The blade 3 is generally of a quadratic shape, having a front edge 15and a rear edge 17. The front and rear edges 15, 17 are normallystraight and parallel but could be slightly curved, or be at a slightangle, to each other. The front and rear edges 15, 17 are joined by sideedges 19. The front and rear edges 15, 17 are longer than the side edges19 providing a blade that is substantially wider than it is long. Thelength to width ratio of the blade is between about 2 to 3 and about 1to 2. A preferred blade is about four inches long and about seven incheswide. The blade is usually made from a steel plate of uniform thickness,the thickness being about one eighth of an inch.

The blade 3 has teeth 21 formed in the front edge 15 as more clearlyshown in FIG. 3. The teeth 21 are separated by slots 23 extendinginwardly from the front edge 15 toward the back edge 17. The slots 23normally have a wide entry mouth 25 with straight sides 27 that taperdown to an elongated slot extension 29. The slot extension 29 can havestraight sides 31 that angle slightly toward each other toward theclosed end 33 of the slot extension 29 so that the slot extension taperstoward the end 33. The tapered slot extension 29 allows the tool toremove nails having different shank diameters. The slots 23 are normallyequally spaced apart and shape the teeth 21 to each have a tapered frontportion 35 ending in a rounded front end 37. The tapered front portion35 is formed by the wide entry mouth 25 of the slots 23. The roundedfront ends 37 of the teeth are aligned and define the front edge 15 ofthe blade shown by a broken line in FIG. 3. The tapered front portion 35connects to a main body portion 39 that is slightly tapered toward thetapered front portion 35. The main body portion 39 is defined by thestraight sides 31 of adjacent slots 23. The main body portion 39 isnormally about one and a half times as long as the tapered front portion35 it follows that the slot extension 29 is normally about one and ahalf times as long as the entry mouth 25.

The teeth 21 can also taper in thickness toward their front end 37, thebottom 41 of the teeth ground down from the bottom 43 of the blade sothat the front end 37 is generally aligned with the top 11 of the blade3 as shown in FIG. 4. The teeth are approximately one and a half incheslong. The blade is normally one eighth of an inch thick with the teethtapering in thickness to about one sixteenth of an inch at the front end37.

The slots 23 receive the shanks of any roofing material nailsencountered in the roof during removal of the roofing material anddirect the shanks into, and to, the closed end 33 of the narrow,extension portion 29 of the slots with the head of the nails, wider thanthe extension portion 29 of the slots, resting on the top of the teeth.The nails can be easily levered up and out of the roof by first pivotingthe blade 3 up about its front edge 15 using the handle 5, and thenabout its back edge 17, if required. The teeth are relatively long toprovide sufficient leverage to be able to loosen and at least partlylift the nails from the roof using the front edge 15 of the blade as apivot.

A preferred form of slots and teeth has been described. Others forms ofslots and teeth can be employed. For example, the teeth 21 can be mademore rounded with the connection between the straight sides 27, 31 ofthe slots being slightly rounded instead of angular and with the roundedend 37 being wider and flatter than shown. In a further embodiment, theslot extension 29 of the slots can have its sides parallel rather thanslightly angled to each other. In another variation, the slot extension29 can be shorter than one and a half times the length of the entrymouth 25. The slot extension can even be shorter than the entry mouth25. At least one slot 23, and preferably two, one on each side of thehandle 5, can be provided in the rear edge 17 of the blade as well tohelp remove nails.

The handle 5 is attached to the top 11 of the blade 3, centered betweenthe side edges 19 of the blade via the hosel 13. The handle 5 isattached to the blade 3 to have its leading or front, bottom, side 47,adjacent the end 33 or ends 33 of the nearest slot 23 or slots 23. Theblade is made only as long as needed in order to be able to attach theentire bottom of the handle to the top of the blade. The trailing orrear, bottom, side 49 of the handle 5, is adjacent the rear edge 17 ofthe blade 3. The handle 5 extends upwardly and rearwardly from the top11 of the blade 3 at an angle Ø ranging from between 30° and 50° andpreferably around 40°. If the tool is used primarily to remove roofingmaterial working down from the ridge of a roof, the handle can extendfrom the blade at a high pitch angle ranging preferably between 40° and45°. If the tool is used primarily to remove roofing material working uptoward the ridge of a roof, the handle can extend from the blade at alow pitch angle ranging preferably between 35° and 40°. The angle of thehandle is a compromise between having the handle low enough to moreeasily push the blade 3 under shingles and having the handle high enoughto be able to work without having to bend too far over. The lower thehandle is, the easier the loosened material will slide up the front ofthe handle. The handle 5 is also somewhat longer than normal, aboutforty inches instead of a normal thirty four-thirty six inches, to makeit easier to work without having to bend too far over. The longer handlealso increases the mechanical advantage of the tool in levering up thematerial. However the tool can be effectively used with a short handle,one ranging between twenty four and thirty inches, as well.

Locating the handle 5 of the tool adjacent the ends 33 of the slots 23in the blade 3 and adjacent the back edge 17 of the blade provides atool 1 that generates a powerful torque to be used in lifting nails andmaterial. A lifting force F1 applied at the end of the lever arm L1provided by the long forty inch handle 5, about the rear edge 17 of theblade 3, provides a very strong lifting force F2 to a nail N at the end33 of the slots 23 due to the short lever arm L2 of about two inchesbetween the rear edge 17 and the end 33 of the slots as shown in FIG. 5.The lifting force F2 obtained is about twenty times the lifting force F1applied. In the tools presently used, with a blade between six and eightinches long, the lifting force F2 obtained is only about a half or athird of the lifting force F2 obtained by applicant's blade. Thedifference is substantial in the effort needed to remove the roofingmaterial.

Using a substantially shorter blade than normal, unexpectedly does notaffect the efficiency of the short blade in removing the roofingmaterial. The handle guides the material lifted and loosened by theblade upwardly on the handle as the blade is moved further and furtherunder the material still attached to the roof. The loosened and raisedmaterial riding up the handle can be torn or cut away when it gets toolong and/or in the way. The shorter blade allows the tool to be moreeasily and quickly manipulated to lift the roofing material using muchless energy. More manipulation of the tool is required with the shorterblade than when using a longer blade to properly position the blade forlifting, but much less effort is required to lift thus making it moreefficient to remove the roofing material. A worker spends much lessenergy in removing the roofing material using the tool of this inventionwith its short, and thus light blade, than when using a tool with along, heavier blade and thus can work harder for a longer period oftime.

While the teeth 21 have been said to be ground down from the bottom 43of the blade to taper the teeth in thickness, the teeth can instead beground down from the top 11 to taper the teeth in thickness, the tip 37of the teeth in this case generally aligned with the bottom surface 43of the blade as shown in FIG. 6. The blade 3 can, if desired, beprovided with a strengthening ridge 51 extending across the base of theteeth 21, adjacent the inner end 33 of the slots 23, as shown in FIG. 7.The ridge 51 extends across the width of the blade between its sides 19,is slightly raised, and serves to strengthen the blade. The ridge 51also initiates movement of the loosened roofing material upwardly ontothe front side 47 of the handle. The ridge 51 could also be locatedbetween the ends 33 of the slots and the front side 47 of the handle 5.The use of a ridge 51 in this location will slightly reduce theefficiency of the blade since the blade is now slightly longer. The useof a ridge in this location would add about three-quarters of an inch tothe length of the blade.

The blade 3 has been shown as being of substantially uniform thicknessexcept for the taper in thickness of the teeth. The blade 3A couldhowever be tapered over its entire length reducing in thickness fromabout one quarter of an inch at its back edge 17A to about one sixteenthof an inch at its front edge 15A as shown in FIG. 8. The tapered shapeof the blade 3A allows the blade to continue lifting, including oneither side of the handle 5A, as the blade is pushed under the shingles.

The side edges 19 of the blade 3 have been shown in FIG. 1 as beingperpendicular to the front and rear edges 15, 17. The blade 3B couldhowever have the side edges 19B angle away from each other slightly inmoving from the front edge 15B to the rear edge 17B so that the rearedge 17B is wider than the front edge 15B as shown in FIG. 9. This shapeof the blade makes it easier to manipulate the blade under the shingles.

The handle 5 has been shown as a wooden shaft 7 attached to a hosel 9 onthe blade 3. However, the handle 5C could also be a metal tube 55attached directly to the top 11C of the blade 3C as shown in FIG. 10.

The tool has been primarily described as being used to help lift andremove roofing material. It could however also be used to help lift andremove other materials such as ice on sidewalks, or flooring materialsin a building.

1. A manually operated material lifting tool having: a short tool blade,the blade having front and rear edges, the front and rear edges joinedby side edges, the front and rear edges being longer than the side edgesto make the blade wider than it is longer; the blade having slotsextending inwardly from the front edge toward the back edge formingteeth between the slots; a handle, having a bottom, attached to the topof the blade approximately midway between the side edges, the handleextending upwardly and rearwardly from the top of the blade; the bottomof the handle located between, and closely adjacent to both, the rearedge of the blade, and an imaginary line joining the inner ends of theslots so that the bottom of the handle extends substantially the entiredistance between the rear edge of the blade and the imaginary linejoining the inner ends of the slots.
 2. A tool as claimed in claim 1wherein the ratio of the length to the width of the tool blade isbetween about 2 to 3 and about 1 to
 2. 3. A tool as claimed in claim 1wherein the handle extends directly upwardly from the top of the bladeat an angle ranging between 30° and 50° .
 4. A tool as claimed in claim2 wherein the handle extends directly upwardly from the top of the bladeat an angle ranging between 30° and 50° .
 5. A tool as claimed in claim1 wherein each slot has a wide, generally short, inwardly tapering entrymouth, and a narrow, elongated extension extending rearwardly from theentry mouth to a closed end, the extension being longer than the entrymouth and slightly inwardly tapering towards its end.
 6. (canceled)
 7. Atool as claimed in claim 1 wherein the tool blade has a raisedstrengthening ridge extending across the width of the blade between itsside edges, the ridge parallel to the front edge and located adjacentthe front of the handle.
 8. (canceled)
 9. A tool as claimed in claim 7wherein the ridge extends across the teeth.
 10. (canceled)
 11. A tool asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the side edges of the blade angle away fromeach other toward the rear of the blade to make the rear edge longerthan the front edge.
 12. A tool as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bladetapers in thickness from its rear edge to its front edge.
 13. A shorttool blade for a manually operated material lifting tool, the tool bladehaving a front edge and a rear edge, the front and rear edges joined byside edges, the front and rear edges being longer than the side edges tomake the blade wider than it is longer; the blade having slots extendinginwardly from the front edge toward the back edge forming teeth betweenthe slots; a hosel, having a bottom, attached to the top of the bladebehind the slots and approximately midway between the side edges, thehosel extending rearwardly and upwardly from the top of the blade, thehosel adapted to receive a handle member by means of which the tool ismanually operated, the bottom of the hosel located between, and closelyadjacent to both the rear edge of the blade and an imaginary linejoining the inner ends of the slots, so that the bottom of the hoselextends substantially the entire distance between the rear edge of theblade and the imaginary line joining the inner ends of the slots.
 14. Atool blade as claimed in claim 13 wherein the ratio of the length to thewidth of the tool blade is between about 2 to 3 and 1 to
 2. 15. A toolas claimed in claim 13 wherein the hosel extends upwardly from the bladeat an angle ranging between 30° and 50° .
 16. A tool as claimed in claim14 wherein the hosel extends upwardly from the blade at an angle rangingbetween 30° and 50°.
 17. A tool blade as claimed in claim 13 whereineach slot has a wide, generally short, inwardly tapering entry mouth,and a narrow, elongated extension extending rearwardly from the entrymouth to a closed end, the extension being longer than the entry mouthand slightly inwardly tapering towards its end.
 18. (canceled)
 19. Atool blade as claimed in claim 13 wherein the tool blade has a raisedstrengthening ridge extending across the width of the blade between itsside edges, the ridge parallel to the front edge and located adjacentthe front of the hosel.
 20. A tool blade as claimed in claim 16 whereinthe tool blade has a raised strengthening ridge extending across thewidth of the blade between its side edges, the ridge parallel to thefront edge and located adjacent the front of the hosel.
 21. A tool asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the tool blade is about four inches long andthe teeth in the blade are about one and a half inches long.
 22. A toolblade as claimed in claim 13 that is about four inches long and theteeth are about one and a half inches long.
 23. A tool blade for amanually operated material lifting tool, the tool blade having a frontedge and a rear edge, the front and rear edges joined by side edges, thefront and rear edges being longer than the side edges to make the bladewider than it is longer; the blade having slots extending inwardly fromthe front edge toward the back edge forming teeth between the slots; ahosel attached to the top of the blade behind the slots andapproximately midway between the side edges, the hosel extendingrearwardly and upwardly from the top of the blade, the hosel adapted toreceive a handle member by means of which the tool is manually operated,the distance between the rear edge of the blade and an imaginary linejoining the inner ends of the slots being only long enough, and nolonger, to allow attachment of the hosel to the top of the blade withthe front, bottom side of the hosel closely adjacent the imaginary lineand the rear, bottom side of the hosel closely adjacent the rear edge ofthe blade.